1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to control executed by an information processing apparatus when the information processing apparatus is connected to a device such as a printer.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, in order to utilize a peripheral apparatus (hereinafter sometimes referred to as a “device”), an information processing apparatus is connected with a peripheral apparatus via various types of interfaces, such as universal serial bus (USB), Ethernet, or a wireless local area network (LAN). As an example of the peripheral apparatus, a printer, a copying machine, a facsimile apparatus, a scanner, a digital camera, and an apparatus having a combination of functions of such machines and apparatuses can be used. In this regard, a device management application can be used to control the operation of the peripheral apparatus. By utilizing the management application, a setting for a peripheral apparatus and a device driver that complies with each peripheral apparatus can be changed. In addition, by utilizing the management application, parts of the peripheral apparatus can be cleaned and maintenance of a peripheral apparatus, such as resetting of the setting set thereto, can be executed.
Meanwhile, with the recent widespread use of the Internet, various types of online services that utilize the Internet have been provided, which can be utilized by an information processing apparatus and a peripheral apparatus connected to the Internet. In this regard, for example, an online purchasing service that allows a user to buy an ink or toner cartridge used in a printer via the Internet has been provided.
In addition, a system has been provided that allows a user to buy a cartridge online via the Internet by accessing the purchasing service from the above-described management application. Furthermore, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-011794 discusses a method for allowing a user to recognize and purchase an appropriate cartridge by displaying the model number of a cartridge when the ink in the cartridge of a printer has been fully consumed.
Furthermore, as a service provided via the Internet, an online service has been provided that allows a user to access and open an online user support page or an online software downloading page by a web browser.
The above-described online purchasing service for selling a cartridge via the Internet, for example, can be provided exclusively to a specific area or a country. In this regard, an online purchasing service for purchasing goods for a printer that is marketed in Japan may be provided exclusively in Japan and not in the United States or other areas or countries, for example.
In this case, in order to appropriately operate the above-described online cartridge purchasing system, a conventional method changes the specification of a management application itself for each destination of an operating system (OS) of the apparatus and provides the above-described service to a user. More specifically, in such a conventional method, a cartridge purchasing button and a function for purchasing a cartridge online are provided to a management application for Japan while a management application for the United States is not provided with such a button or a function. Thus, the conventional method does not allow a user to purchase a cartridge online by utilizing a management application whose destination is the USA.
Furthermore, if a management application is supplied with the OS of an information processing apparatus, a management application having an online cartridge purchasing function may be supplied only with an OS that supports Japanese language. However, if the specification of the management application to be supplied with an OS is changed for each destination of the OS, an American user who resides in Japan cannot use the online cartridge purchasing function if the American user uses an OS that supports English in Japan, for example.
If a Japanese user who resides in the United States uses an OS that supports Japanese language in the United States, the Japanese user may use the online cartridge purchasing function of the management application supplied with the OS to order a cartridge online. However, if a cartridge desired by the U.S. resident Japanese user is not marketed in the United States because the online cartridge purchasing function is intended for use within Japan, the U.S. resident Japanese user cannot actually purchase the desired cartridge.
In addition, with respect to an online service by which a user opens a user support page or a software downloading page online via the Internet, the display language and the service content thereof may differ for each area in which the device is marketed. More specifically, the content of the service that a printer supports may differ for each model type (model name).
Accordingly, if a user utilizes the above-described service by accessing the web site of the online service using the management application, the following problems may arise. That is, if a user who uses an OS that supports Japanese language in the United States opens an online user support page, for example, the user may reach a service web site for the Japanese market. In this case, the U.S. resident Japanese user cannot acquire information about a printer that is marketed exclusively in the United States.
Furthermore, even if a user can reach a service site of a desired area or country, if the user refers to information about a device of a model type (model name) that is different from the desired device, the user may operate the printer in a wrong manner or malfunction of the printer may occur.